Alanganallur on the boil after arrests

Soon after the arrest of the protesters a group of women knocked all the doors of Alanganallur and brought women to the protest ground. They staged road roko and started protesting in several groups. 

On hearing the protests of women they were joined by people of neighbouring villages. During the protest women claimed that youngsters from other parts of the state protested for jallikattu and they were arrested. They stage road roko to express solidarity with the protesting youth. Alanganallur women were supportive right from the beginning. In the wee hours of Tuesday, police announced a lathi-charge and requested the women to leave. 

Around 6 am police held talks with the protesters and asked them to drop the protest. When the youth persisted, policemen dragged a few protesters and started evicting them forcefully. The detained protesters were taken in vans to marriage halls in Sholavandan and Vadipatti. One of the protesters Adithya claimed that five youths who were leading the protest were arrested and were taken to an unidentified place. 

“Police has been trying to file false cases against us and hence, we have started a fast in the marriage hall,” he added. Speaking to media, Madurai SP, Vijayendra Bidari, claimed that initially 32 protesters were released and later 52 persons were released. Though released, they did not move out claimed the SP.

As the early morning arrest information spread thick and fast in social network like Facebook, hundreds of youths descended on the Marina and staged an agitation, demanding release of all those arrested in Madurai.

DMK working president and Opposition Leader M K Stalin called on the youth and expressed his solidarity and support for their agitation. He also earlier submitted a memorandum to Director General of Police T K Rajendran urging him to take steps to release all those arrested in Madurai. 

Condemning police action on protesters Stalin said that the administration has treated Alanganallur as an undeclared war zone. “The arrest of local youth had triggered the public protest in the area. Instead of pacifying the situation, the administration has treated Alanganallur as an undeclared war zone and stopped movement of essential services to the area. It will further add to the inconvenience already caused to the public and will aggravate the situation further. The state should ensure that all essential supplies are restored,” he said. 

“The action of the policemen clearly indicates that it was initiated by the BJP at the Centre and followed duly by the ruling AIADMK in the state,” he said. The students, including girls, carried placards and banners in support of jallikattu on the Marina, while demanding a ban on PETA, which was instrumental in banning the sport. 

Stalin also called for abolishing animal welfare body PETA as its activities are interfering in cultural values and emotions of Tamils. He said the protests were voluntary and that the issue had found all-round support among the people of the state. Police were holding talks with the youth to call off their agitation, but they were unrelenting. Stalin also slammed the police for arresting jallikattu supporters at Alanganallur, even as the stir spread to other districts.

Protests in support of jallikattu intensified in Western districts. In Coimbatore protests were organised in five places. Over 1,200 students of various colleges started a sit in demo at VOC Ground in the city and continued till the late hours of the day. An unsuccessful attempt was made to organize a jallikattu at Kannampalayam near Sulur and Koolamedu. The attempts were foiled by the police. A protest was organized at Singanallur in the city. In Erode string of protests was organised by students. In Salem, thousands of people gathered at Attur to take part in the protest in which actor GV Prakash participated. More than 100 youth picketed the Collectorate and raised slogans condemning the police for assaulting and arresting students.

As many as 14 students of the Dr Ambedkar Government Law college were arrested when they attempted to picket the Raj Nivas to press for the immediate release of students arrested by police at Alanganallur. Earlier, the students took out a procession to the Raj Nivas from the Bharathi Park. Police prevented them from nearing the Lt Governor’s house and detained them. Meanwhile, volunteers of the different Tamil organisations held a demonstration near the Kamaraj statue junction for the conduct of jallikattu. The agitators shouted slogans in support of jallikattu and demanded the release of those arrested at Alanganallur. They also burnt photographs of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala and TN CM O Panneerselvam.